Seating and/or reclining furniture, in particular a chair

ABSTRACT

Seating and/or reclining furniture, in particular a chair, includes at least one first support part and one second support part, each configured to support a person resting on the furniture, in use, and the at least one first and second support part being connected to one another via at least one connecting element. An electromechanical drive device is provided for adjusting the at least one first and second support part relative to each other. One of the at least one connecting elements includes at least one channel, the at least one channel being configured to accommodate at least one of a voltage supply wire and a control wire for supplying voltage and actuating the electromechanical drive device, respectively, in use. The at least one connecting element has at least one channel configured to accommodate voltage supply lines and/or control lines for supplying voltage and/or actuating the electromechanical drive devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application no. PCT/EP2005/012948, filed Dec. 2, 2005, which claims the priority of German application no. 10 2005 001 876.9, filed Jan. 14, 2005, and each of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a seating and/or reclining piece of furniture, in particular an armchair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

From WO 2004/062435 A1 a seating and/or reclining piece of furniture of the relevant type is known, which has a first and a second support part configured to support a person resting on the piece of furniture, wherein the first support part and the second support part are connected to one another via at least one connecting element, and can be adjusted relative to one another by means of an electromechanical drive.

Similar seating and/or reclining pieces of furniture are also known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,790,485 and DE 299 19 238 U1.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a further seating and/or reclining furniture including at least a first support part and a second support part, each configured to support a person resting on the furniture, in use, and the at least a first and second support part being connected to one another via at least one connecting element.

This object is achieved by the seating and/or reclining furniture according to the invention that includes at least a first support part and a second support part, each configured to support a person resting on the furniture, in use, and the at least a first and second support part being connected to one another via at least one connecting element. There is also an electromechanical drive device provided for adjusting the at least a first and second support part relative to each other. One of the at least one connecting elements includes at least one channel, the at least one channel being configured to accommodate at least one of a voltage supply wire and a control wire for supplying voltage and actuating the electromechanical drive device, respectively, in use.

According to the invention, the connecting element or at least one of the connecting elements has at least one channel configured to accommodate voltage supply lines and/or control lines for supplying voltage and/or actuating the electromechanical drive devices. The basic idea of the teaching of the invention is that, instead of running voltage supply and/or control wires for supplying voltage and/or actuating the electromechanical drive devices unattached from the first support part to the second support part, for example, accommodating these wires within at least one channel. In this manner, the seating and/or reclining piece of furniture of the invention is configured in a visually pleasing manner, since there are no wires extending freely from the first support part to the second support part that could detract from the overall visual impression. In addition, the functional reliability of the seating and/or reclining piece of furniture of the invention is increased in that the electrical wires accommodated in the channel or channels are protected from damage.

Because the voltage supply and/or control wires are accommodated in the channel or channels so as to be invisible or nearly invisible, the teaching of the invention especially presents the possibility of arranging parts of the electromechanical drive devices both on the first support part and on the second support part, for example, at least one electric motor arranged on both the first support part and the second support part. The voltage supply or control elements that are necessary for supplying voltage or for actuating the electromechanical drive devices can then be arranged on only one of the support parts, wherein the supply of voltage to or actuation of an electric motor arranged on the other support part is implemented via the voltage supply and/or control lines that are accommodated in the channels. Whereas with seating and/or reclining pieces of furniture according to the prior art it is necessary to arrange the electromechanical drive devices, for example all the electric motors required for adjusting the support parts, on the specific support part on which the voltage supply or control devices or a line entry for the voltage supply or control means is provided, the teaching of the invention makes it possible to also arrange electric motors, for example, on those support parts in which the voltage supply or control elements, or a line entry for these, is not present. This presents a multitude of possibilities with respect to the structural configuration and especially with respect to the possibilities for adjusting the chair of the invention.

The number of support parts connected to one another, each via at least one connecting element, can be selected, based upon respective requirements, from within a wide range of choices.

According to the invention, it is possible in principle to form the channel, or at least one of the channels, for accommodating the voltage supply and/or control wires on an outer surface of the respective connecting element, for example in the form of a groove. One especially advantageous further improvement on the teaching of the invention provides that the connecting element, or at least one of the connecting elements, is configured to be hollow, especially tubular, such that the channel is formed in the interior of the connecting element. With this embodiment, the voltage supply and/or control wires are accommodated inside the respective connecting element. They are thus invisible to a user of the piece of furniture, and are also protected from any damage.

The connecting element or connecting elements can be configured in any suitable fashion. One particularly visually advantageous further improvement on the teaching of the invention provides that the connecting element, or at least one of the connecting elements, is configured as a brace.

In principle, a voltage supply wire and a control wire can be accommodated within the same channel. In order to prevent the control signals transmitted via a control wire from being influenced by a supply voltage for the electromechanical drive device transmitted via a voltage supply wire, it is expedient for at least one voltage supply wire to be accommodated in a first channel and at least one control wire to be accommodated in a second channel.

With the aforementioned embodiment, the first channel is expediently formed on or in a first connecting element, and the second channel is expediently formed on or in a second connecting element that is spaced from the first connecting element.

Below, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the attached set of drawings, in which an exemplary embodiment of a seating and/or reclining piece of furniture is represented. In this, all characterizing features described or represented in the set of drawings, alone or in any combination, form the object of the invention, regardless of their composition in the patent claims or their dependencies, and independent of their formulation or representation in the description or in the set of drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a seating and reclining piece of furniture according to the invention, in the form of a chair, wherein details in the area of a first support part and a second support part are shown in a phantom representation,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the chair of FIG. 1, wherein one of the armrests is omitted for purposes of illustration, and details in the area of the first support part and the second support part are shown in phantom representation, and the chair is in a first position of adjustment of the support parts,

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of a connecting element of the chair according to FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 is a representation similar to FIG. 2, and on an enlarged scale relative to FIG. 2, and is a detail of the area of the first support part and the second support part, wherein the chair is in a second position of adjustment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a seating and reclining piece of furniture according to the invention in the form of a chair 2 is shown, which comprises a base 4 that has armrests 6, 8 spaced laterally from one another. The chair 2 further comprises a first support part 10 that is arranged between the armrests 6, 8 and is capable of pivoting around a horizontal pivoting axis 12 relative to the armrests. A second support part 16 is connected to the first support part 10 so as to be capable of pivoting around an essentially horizontal pivoting axis 14, with the end of said second support part that faces away from the first support part 10 being connected to a third support part 20, which is capable of pivoting around a horizontal pivoting axis 18. The chair 2 further comprises a fourth support part 22, which is mounted between the armrests 6, 8 so as to pivot around a horizontal pivoting axis that is not visible in the drawing, and is arranged on the end of the first support part 10 that faces away from the second support part 16.

To adjust the support parts 10, 16, 20, 22 relative to one another or relative to the base 4 of the chair 2, electromechanical drive device(s) is/are provided, which in this exemplary embodiment have electric motors 24, 26, 28, 30. To supply voltage to the electric motors 24, 26, 28, 30, a voltage supply device not shown in the drawing is provided, which is arranged on the first support part 10. To actuate the electric motors 24, 26, 28, 30, a control device, also not shown in the drawing, is provided, which is also arranged on the first support part 10.

The first support part 10 is connected to the second support part 16 via two connecting elements that are spaced from one another in the axial direction of the pivoting axis 14, which elements in this exemplary embodiment are formed by braces 32, 34 that are narrow in structure in the axial direction of the pivoting axis 14. In a corresponding manner, the second support part 16 is connected to the third support part 20 via two flat braces 36, 38 that are spaced from one another in the axial direction of the pivoting axis 18.

The nature and manner in which the support parts 10, 16, 20, 22 can be adjusted relative to one another or relative to the base 4 by means of the electric motors 24, 26, 28, 30 is not of further interest in the context of the invention, and therefore will not be described in greater detail.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the chair 2, in which the braces 34, 38 are visible.

According to the invention, at least one of the connecting elements formed by the braces 32, 34, namely in this exemplary embodiment the brace 34, has a channel 39 configured to accommodate electrical voltage supply and/or control wires for supplying voltage and/or actuating the electric motors 24, 26 arranged on the second support part 16.

Via the voltage supply wires, a supply voltage from the voltage supply elements arranged on the second support part 16 is fed to the electric motors 24, 26, whereas via the control wires, control signals from the control elements arranged on the first support part 10 are fed to the electric motors 24, 26.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-section of the brace 34, wherein the voltage supply wires are indicated only schematically and are designated by the reference numeral 40. The control wires are also indicated only schematically and are designated by the reference numeral 42. As is apparent from FIG. 3, the brace 34 is hollow and essentially tubular in structure, so that the voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 are accommodated in the channel 39 inside the brace 34. In this manner, the voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 are protected from damage, and also are not visible to a user of the chair, so that they do not distract from the overall visual impression of the chair 2. At the ends of the brace 34, with which said brace is connected to the pivoting axis 14 or to an axis 44, the pivoting axis 14 and the axis 44 can be hollow in configuration. The voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 can thus be run from the interior of the first support part 10, through the channel 39 in the brace 34 and the hollow portion of the axis 44, into the interior of the second support part 16 to the electric motors 24, 26.

FIG. 4 shows the chair 2 in a position of adjustment in which the second support part 16 and the third support part 20 are adjusted relative to the first support part 10.

Because the voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 are accommodated in the channel 39 of the brace 34, the voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 are not free, so that they are protected from damage. Furthermore, the voltage supply wires 40 and the control wires 42 are not visible to a person using the chair 2, so that the chair 2 has an aesthetically pleasing configuration, and has the outward appearance of a chair that is not motor-adjustable.

While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, and uses and/or adaptations of the invention and following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or limits of the claims appended hereto. 

1. Seating and/or reclining furniture, comprising: a) at least one first support part and one second support part, each configured to support a person resting on the furniture, in use; b) the at least one first and second support part being connected to one another via at least one connecting element; c) an electromechanical drive device provided for adjusting the at least one first and second support part relative to each other; d) one of the at least one connecting elements including at least one channel, the at least one channel being configured to accommodate at least one of a voltage supply wire and a control wire for supplying voltage and actuating the electromechanical drive device, respectively, in use.
 2. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 1, wherein: a) the at least one connecting element is hollow; and b) the at least one channel is formed in an interior of the at least one connecting element.
 3. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 1, wherein: a) the at least one connecting element is a brace.
 4. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 2, wherein: a) the at least one channel includes a first channel and a second channel; and b) a voltage supply wire can be accommodated in the first channel, and a control wire can be accommodated in the second channel.
 5. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 1, wherein: a) the at least one channel includes a first channel and a second channel; and b) a voltage supply wire can be accommodated in the first channel, and a control wire can be accommodated in the second channel.
 6. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 5, wherein: a) the at least one connecting element includes a first connecting element and a second connecting element, the second connecting element being spaced apart from the first connecting element; and b) the first channel is provided one of on and in the first connecting element, and the second channel is provided one of on and in the second connecting element.
 7. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 1, wherein: a) the at least one connecting element is tubular.
 8. Seating and/or reclining furniture according to claim 1, wherein: a) the furniture is a chair. 